this post was submitted on 07 Nov 2023
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I noticed my phone battery bulging just yesterday. So I went and dug up the documentation that came with it to see if I could take advantage of the manufacturer's warranty. No dice, but the sim card tray ejector thing was in with the user's manual. So at least I have that. :/
Check out ifixit.com - your phone might be pretty repairable. It's crazy that companies stopped making phones with replaceable batteries.
Not that much. . . . .
. . .
. . Money is why
Yeah, I've done some research about fixing it myself on YouTube. A kit to fix it is only about $25. But I was a little intimidated by the "heat the phone to soften the adhesive so the screen will come off" step and decided to look into how much it'd cost just to get it fixed professionally.
I walked into the "Authorized Google Repair" shop with my bulging Pixel and the guy told me there was a "99.9% chance" that the screen would break in the process of replacing the battery and if he had to replace the screen too, the total cost would be more than I paid for the phone and more than I would pay to get an identical model on Amazon now.
So, I'm evaluating my options. I could get a replacement battery and a replacement screen and do a lot of research and fix it myself, which is a little risky. Or I could just contribute to the e-waste problem and get a new phone (or a refurb; this whole ordeal makes me want to not spend much on phones in the future) that has a consumer-replaceable battery.
Oh, also, I've had this phone for less than three years.
Also, an unlocked bootloader and a mature LineageOS or GrapheneOS or whatever other Open-Source no-Google-apps distribution is basically an absolute deal breaker must have for me. (I suppose if I do end up getting a different phone, I could look into Linux phones too, but I'm a little wary of that. I got burned with the Openmoko Neo Freerunner back in the day.) I bought this Pixel direct from the manufacturer (not through a carrier or anything) because that was the only way to get it with an unlocked bootloader so I could go LineageOS. But going that route, I only get the one-year manufacturer's warranty. No carrier warranty or anything.
So I guess I'll go go pray to Saint Louis Rossmann now and hope for divine inspiration. Lol.
(Ha! Sorry for the rant. I was an extremely late adopter of smartphones at all because I don't trust them. This is the first smartphone I've ever had and it didn't last me three years! Clearly I should have remained staunchly Amish for QWERTY. Lol.)
I used to work in a phone repair shop, I have no clue what that guy is talking about. Ive replaced the battery on dozens of pixels and never had the screen break on me. He most likely said that because there is always some risk of something breaking during the repair, so by stating it up front he won’t get any angry customers after the fact.
Ha! Well, that's good info to have. That makes me more confident to try replacing the battery myself with a $25 kit from Amazon. Thanks for the input!
That guy is bullshitting you: I used to work in a repair shop and screens breaking on any device is uncommon, but even if the screen does break, it's cheaper to replace it yourself than it would be to pay them.
I suppose it's possible he wasn't lying, but that would mean that he's really shitty at his job and breaks 99%+ phones he works on.
You can replace phone batteries. It's not that hard. It's just harder than sliding it in.
It costs $15 plus the battery cost to have a professional with warranty to do it for you.
Depends somewhat on the phone on how easy it is to do, but if you're technically inclined, depending on what the shop charges, it might be worth doing yourself (especially if you have a decent heat gun that can be set reliably to lower temperatures and know how to repair tech already). $15 is worth it IMO, even if you are good with tech, but some places might charge more.